The Darkest Mark
by GandalfsWarrior
Summary: Action adventure based on Harrys Work as an Auror fighting Voldemort a year after Hogwarts. I reckon this is pretty cool. R/R
1. Default Chapter Title

**THE DARKEST MARK** - PART 1 

PART I

Harry Potter lay slumped on his bed. The late-afternoon summer light seemingly oozed through his billowy lace curtains. In the distance he could hear people laughing and talking...a melody not unlike the one of the river that ran past his house. Harry had left school a year ago, and was now working as an Auror for the Minisrty. The work was sometimes tough, but fulfilling .He grunted and sat up...his room swam back into view. He must of been dozing, he thought.

Walking into the kitchen, he picked up the Daily Prophet from the side, and continued his walk down the corridor to the guest room. Upon openeing the door he found a small, beady-eyed man glancing furtively at him. This man would of been out of the ordinary, if it had not been Peter Pettigrew imprisoned in Harry Potters' house.

Harry had captured him just two days before. He was out with a gang of Death Eaters who were under surveilence by the Ministry. They'd let Pettigrew separate from the Death Eaters, then caught him, alone. The Ministry had charged Harry with the imprisonment of Pettigrew, after all Azkaban was now empty.

It had been broken into just weeks ago by Voldemort himself. Who persuaded the Dementors to join his side. Dumbledore had orignally warned Cornelius Fudge, ex-Minister for Magic that it might happen but Fudge had been too blind to see it.

Making a deliberate show, he forcedly splayed the paper on the floor next to Pettigrew. 'Well wormtail, what do you think of this?' He said, jabbing his finger at a large article on the front page. Pettigrew turned in his invisible restraints and looked at the article. It read;

_LUCIFER MALFOY APPREHENDED BY LONGBOTTOM AND ARCHONTOULIS._

_Lucifer Malfoy, long time contributer and helper at the ministry as today been arrested on Dark Arts, Muggle Torture, Practicion of the Unforgivable Curses and Possession of Dangerous Poisons charges. He was cornered in Knockturn Alley, with his wife Narcissa Malfoy, by a squad of well-trained ministry Hit-Wizards and Aurors. The elderly Mr Malfoy has pleaded guilty to all charges and is due to appear in Wellington Point Crown Court later today. He is currently being monitored by top Aurors Neville Longbottom and Manoli Archontoulis. Mr Longbottom today commented, 'We at the ministry are shocked and saddened that an apparant ally is in custody. However, we are glad we have apprehended him'._

'So' Hary said to Wormtail 'another one captured. Your master is losing his power. With Dumbledore and the other Aurors, he is sure to meet his downfall'. At this point Harry grabbed Wormtail by the neck and lifted him to a sitting position. 'You might get a shorter sentence if you reveal his whereabouts'.

Wormtail looked at Harry confused for a moment then spoke, 'he..he is hiding at..' His breath seemed to catch 'Gringotts vault 6662'. Harry looked into Wormtails eyes and saw fear and perhaps remorse but not that he was lying. 'Very well, thank you, youv'e been very helpful'. He dropped Wormtail and walked to his lounge room. After tying a letter to the leg of his eurasian Eagle Owl, Ook, and letting it out of the window, he clicked his fingers and Disapparated.

Two Hundred miles away, and a little time later, Albus Dumbledore sat at the head of the massive table, in Hogwarts's Great Hall, which seated a lot of the key players in the war against Lord Voldemort. On one side of Dumbledore sat Remus Lupin, Seamus Finnigan, Ronald Weasley, Bill Weasley, Arabelle Figg, Hermione Granger, Alastor Moody, Neville Longbottom, Manoli Archontoulis, Lachlan Hemalaar, George leBerghz and on the other sat Sirius Black, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Mundungus Fletcher, Rubeus Hagrid, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Christian Tuivati and Fred Hutchinson.

There was one person missing though. Dumbledore waited anxiously and looked at the empty seat next to his. Perhaps Wormtail had contacted the other Death Eaters and they had come to free him? What would they have done to Harry, he thought?

Dumbledore shook his head and his silvery white hair bounced around. Thinking like this was no good. He'd be highly surprised if Harry couldn't deal with up to three Death Eaters on his own. Dumbledore sighed and looked around at the table. He was getting old and he knew it. Pretty soon it would be down to Harry Potter and the others to fight Voldemort.

Still, Dumbledore thought, that time isn't yet. He was still in thought five minutes later, when the doors to the Great Hll burst open and Harry strode in. 'Hi' he said and sat down next to Dumbledore. 'Hello, Harry' said Dumbledore 'Now, I have called you all here to reveal something to you. A few hours ago, Harry here sent me an owl telling me that Peter Pettigrew had revealed Voldemorts whereabouts'.

There was a hushed gasping and whispering in the hall. 'So' Dumbledore continued 'I have decided to take a small group to Gringotts, where he is hiding, to possibly capture and/or kill him'. 

The hall broke into all-out excitement. Voices babbled while Dumbledore hushed for silence. 'I would like for Alastor Moody, Sirius Black, Severus Snape and Neville Longbottom to join Harry and I'. Everyone at the table looked anxiously at those picked to go. 'Do you accept?'.

They all nodded in unison. Harry nodded also as everyone stood and began to converse. He walked over to Ron and held out his hand. Ron smiled, and shook his hand. 'Been a while, eh?' He said happily. Harry nodded. 'Percy isn't doing to well. They appointed him stand-in Minister a few weeks ago. Doesn't come home anymore' he laughed.

'We would've asked you to come, y'know Ron, its just that we want a relatively small squad. We dont want Death Eaters seeing us all together, or they'll know somehing is up' Harry said 'Nevilles changed a lot since we left school, dont you think?' He said, casting a sideways look at the tall, well built young man that was Neville Longbottom. He had used to be small and chubby but being in on Harrys adventures in the last few years had really molded him into something his father would have been proud of.

Ron was in charge of liasing with other countrys. Among those he'd contacted were Bulgaria, France, Ghana, South Africa, America and Canada. All had accepted except America who were having there own troubles with Pakistani Nationalist wizards, and terrorism.

The Bulgarian, French, Ghanans, Canadians and South Africans had been taken by Portkey, two days earlier to London where they were being briefed by Aurors for the mission of Death Eater Capture. Hogwarts, being in Yorkshire, was one of the best guarded place for the foreigners, and they'd be staying there.

Once all arrangements had been organised. Ron and Harry walked out of the Hall together. 'Harry, Ive been thinking, d'you want to stay at my house for a couple of days? Ive moved down to London and it would be conveniently close for you mission'. He looked up at Harry, who'd grown enormously tall in the lsat year or so.

'Yeah, that'd be great, Ron, Ill have to get Ook and hand Pettigrew over to the Ministry first though' Harry replied. Ron nodded his agreement, and once outside the Hogwarts ground, they Disapparated.

Harry Apparated inside his house and strode to the Guest Room. He opened the door and let out a yelp of surprise. Pettigrew was gone and the room looked as though it had been hit by a hurricane. He bent down quickly and scooped up a piece of paper off the floor.

Harry frowned at the paper, it bore the Dark Mark and was spattered with ink. He threw it down and walked to the table. He pulled out a piece of Parchment, a Quill and a bottle of Dark Green ink and began to write,

Dear Professor Dumbledore, 

Pettigrew escaped. Go ahead with the mission anyway, 

Harry.

He rolled the parchment and tied it to Ook's leg. He then carried her to the Lounge Room window and let her out. He watched as she flew into the distance. With one last look around, he Disapparated.

Down in London Ron Weasley was sitting in his house thinking. He absent-mindedly threw a ball from his chair onto the wall, and back again. In fact, he was almost asleep when Harry Potter appeared next to him.

'Hello, nice place you've got here' he said. Ron jumped up and shook Harry's hand. 'Hello. I thought we might visit Diagon Alley today. Y'know, I do have to buy some new robes'. Harry nodded and together they Disapparated.

For the next few days Harry and Ron spent their time in Diagon Alley and visiting Hermione, who was working at the ministry in the Muggle Research department. She'd had a lot of stories to tell them and a lot to catch up on.

On the morning on which Harry and the rest of the Aurors were going to try and capture Voldemort, Harry woke up at 5:00am, as did Ron. Together they made a bacon and eggs fry-up and ate in silence.

After a while, Harry stood up and pulled his cloak on. 'Ron, I gotta go. I'll see you later, Okay?' He said and walked towards the door. 'Okay, Good Luck!' Ron said and waved good-bye. Harry smiled then Disapparated.

He apparated instantly outside Gringotts. Already there was Sirius Black, Snape, Neville Longbottom and Alastor Moody. 'Where is 'e, laddie, eh?' Moody said to Harry. Harry looked confused. 'Oh, Dumbledore? I dont know, he'll be here soon'. Harry said. No sooner had he spoken that Dumbledore walked around the corner, ice cream in hand.

'Hello' he said. Mad-Eye snorted, 'What took so long? Bin waiting here ages...and there you are eatin' ice creams!'. His Magical eye bounced furiously around it's socket. Dumbledore smiled jovially at Mad-Eyes obvious anticipation. 'Well, lets go'.

They walked up the steps to Gringotts. They ignored the Goblin outside, as did they the inscription on the doors. Dumbledore pushed the doors open, and they walked to the counter. A particularly nasty looking Goblin sat behind it. Harry knew that this Goblin, and the rest in the building would be covering up for Voldemort.

When the Goblin saw who was talking to him, he shrunk back fearfully. 'Vault 6662 please. Hurry' said Dumbledore. The Goblin gave a nasty smile. 'Key please sir?' It said. Dumbledore frowned. He muttered something under his breath and repeated, 'Vault 6662 please'. The Goblin jumped up immediately and opened the door that leads towards the mine carts, which took them to the vaults. 

They all piled in the in the cart. Sirius and Snape giving each other dirty looks the entire time. 'Hello Harry' said Sirius 'Hows things?'. Harry smiled at Sirius, who was his Godfather and replied 'Fine. A little nervous, I suppose, but fine'. Harry was nearly sick as the cart lurched forward, and Neville had to grab his collar to save him from falling out.

Dumbledore turned around. 'We're nearly there. Severus, I want you to go in first and if it is heavily guarded make an excuse and come out. I do not want anyone to lose their lives today, gentlemen. You may have to say that Pettigrew told you of his hideout, as Voldemort never told you himself'. 

Snape nodded and climbed out the cart. Everyone drew their wands as Snape knocked on the door. There was silence for a minute but the door swung open, revealing a murky green light from behind the door.

'Snape' the Death Eater who opened the door grunted 'How'd you find us?' Harry didn't recognise the Death Eaters voice, but couldn't see him from around the corner. 'Pettigrew told me. I heard he'd been captured. Can I come in?' His voice sounded strangely deep and smooth.

The Death Eater didn't speak but he must of agreed, as Snape entered. For what seemed like ages there was silence. Then an almighty bang. Neville, Sirius, Harry and Dumbledore rushed forward. Dumbledore raised his wand and blasted the door down, with a curse Harry had never seen before. Pushing past him, Neville charged into the room. Harry followed. Then Sirius. Before Harry lay the broken body of Snape. He bent down to check his pulse. 'Gone' he said and gently closed Snapes eyes.

Dumbledore looked sadly down at him then around the room. There was no one there. 'Where did they go?' Said Mad-Eye angrily. He was obviously miffed at missing all the action. Neville frowned, 'They didn't Disapparate. This place is like Hogwarts, you cant have thieves Apparating in and out of Vaults. They must have escaped another way'. 

Harry's eye drifted around the room. He spotted a wooden goblet. 'Portkey' he muttered. Dashing forward, Dumbledore twigged on and reached out a hand to try and stop him. It was too late. Harry had grabbed the Portkey, disappearing.

Harry felt the strong jerk behind his navel and was flying forward, as if pulled by it. He seemed unable to let go of the goblet. He landed on cement, hard. He shook his head an stood up. The clouds above him were black. The sky swirled and the very sun looked dead. Harry had no idea where he was.

Before him lay a great field with a solitary hut in the middle. The wheat on either side of it swayed. Harry walked forward, the wind whipping his face and hair. As he moved forward he noticed the silence. There wasn't a sound to be heard. Even the wind was unusually quiet. 

As he reached the door to the hut he drew his wand. Upon opening the door he gasped. He couldn't believe his eyes. There were stairs leading down to a pit. It was a massive chamber, pitch black. All around the pit sat Death Eaters, chanting quietly. A gap in the Death Eaters held a hair and in that chair sat Voldemort. His white face was sharply contrasted strongly with his gleaming red snake-like eyes. He seemed to be staring at something hovering above the pit. Harry smelt sulphur coming from the pit. Upon closer inspection he realised it was lava. The strangest thing was the lava wasn't orange, but a dark, murky green.

He focused his eyes on the thing hanging above the pit. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he saw the silhouetted outline of a lady dangling above the pit. Moving closer, he realised who it was. Hermione Granger.

**Well, sorry about the cliffhanger! The next part will be up within 5-7 days (Im staying at a internet-less friends for a bit!). PLEASE review, I dont care if they're flames or not. I wasn't sure if this title was taken but I apologise if it was. This is my first fic in at least 6 months. I must have had the biggest non-creativity block on record! If you find any spelling mistakes, please tell me and I will edit them. My spellchecker has stopped working and I will have to reinstall it. Ook, if you dont know already, is the name of the real-life owl who'll be playing Hedwig in The Sorcerers (PHILOSOPHERS! :- ) Stone. **


	2. Default Chapter Title

**THE DARKEST MARK** - Shadow Academy 

PART 2

I said 5-7 days before the next instalment and it has been 7. I thought I'd have it up within 3 actually but everything got screwed up. Have fun reading Part 2 of the Darkest Mark and if your interested ive just posted Part 2 of The Muggle Girl!

Harry stared open-mouthed at Hermiones lifeless body hanging above the pit. Then Voldemort stood up. 'Quiet', he hissed. Then began to chuckle. He laughed louder and louder until his high, cold laughter stung Harry's ears. 'Friends' he adressed the Death Eaters, 'we have two visitors'. Harry looked wildly around for the other supposed visitor, Hermione was obviously one of them.

'Miss Granger here' Voldemort waved his hand carelessly at Hermione. 'And...' He paused. For a moment Voldemort shook. Then a cold smile played about his lips. 'HARRY POTTER!'. From Voldemorts fingertip a thin green jet of light issued and wrapped itself around Harry. 'GET OVER HERE' Voldemort yelled, and the wire constricted, turning Harrys face red. The next moment he fell next to Voldemort, panting helpless on the ground. 

Since the years of Harry leaving Hogwarts, he had grown taller. Now, close to 6"5, his hair longer than ever, he was still thin, but wiry strong. Harry foolishly stretched his bindings, only to feel a white hot heat sink into his arm.

'Undo me Voldemort' he said, with the iciest voice he could muster. Voldemort, even though Harry doubted he would, undid his bounds and offered Harry a hand to get up. Harry looked suspiciously at Voldemorts spindly, white fingers. Anger coursed through him and he spat on them.

Voldemort half chuckled, half growled. 'You'll pay for that. You know that, dont you?' He said and slapped Harry hard across the face. Hermione screamed from above the pit. Harry shook himself and reached for his wand.

'Voldemort, you challenged me to a duel in my fourth year. Now Im grown up, do you think you can handle me?' Harry taunted. Voldemorts pale face twinged red at the high cheekbones. A wave of fire swept throuh his red, slanting eyes. 'Wih pleasure' he said.

The Death Eaters formed a circle around the competitors. 'Master, use my wand. Same make as yours. Dragon Heart string though' Nott, a Death Eater, said to Voldemort 'We dont want Prior Incantatem again'. Voldemort looked slightly amused, and took the wand. With a flourish he turned Nott into a horned toad and back again. 'It works excellently, thank you. You will be rewarded' he said. Nott bowed with satisfaction and rejoined the circle. 

Harry and Voldemort stood facing one another. 'Bow' Voldemort said, and this time Harry bowed of his own free will. He kept his eyes upon Voldemort and his head did not go beneath chest height, however. Harry and Voldemort moved closer together and crossed wands. 'Begin' Harry said and arched his wand towards Voldemorts heart. '_Crucio_' he said. Voldemorts body went rigid then straight again. He had overcome it.

Harry stared speechless at Voldemort for a moment, surprised that Voldemort could deflect such a powerful curse. Voldemort took a small model dragon out of his pocket and pinted his wand at it. '_Maxima Draconis'_ he hissed and the dragon immediately started growing. Within five seconds it was full height and Voldemort was hissing Parseltounge at it. Of course, Harry thought, a dragon is so like a snake, and so obviously of the same Genus then it _would _be possible to talk to it. 

'_Attack him' _Harry heard Voldemort say to the Dragon. Harry pointed his wand at the dragons foot. _'Reducio'_ he said and sent a poweful yellow beam at the Dragons foot. The Dragon fell over, obviously in great pain. Harry felt immensely sorry for it. '_Ferula_' he said and bandages covered the dragons foot. '_Minima Draconis'_ Harry said, guessing the Dragon growth counter-spell.

The Dragon shrunk back to a model. '_Accio_' Harry said and the model flew to his pocket. Harry once again aimed his wand at Voldemort. 'How touching' Voldemort sneered, glancing at Harry's bulging pocket. '_Imperio_' Voldemort said and Harrys mind went pleasently blank. 'Harry' a booming voice inside his head commanded, 'that wand in your hand, aim it at your head'. Harry saw no reason why not and did so.

'Say Crucio' said the voice in Harry's head. No sooner had he said this then Harry heard a softer voice. 'Why should I' it said 'that isn't good for me'. 'No' Harry said. The mistiness in his heard was getting clearer. 'No' he repeated. It was gone. He had thrown off the curse. Now it was Voldemorts turn to be surprised. Then Voldemort shook his head.

'Enough childishness' he said 'take him to his quarters in my tower. I have a headache' and turned to leave. 'Wait! You cant just leave. We haven't finished' Harry said angrily as the Death Eaters confiscated his wand and dragged him away.

For what seemed like hours he was dragged endlessly downwards until he was thrown into a dark room. One of the Death Eaters waved his hands and flames sprung up in all four corners of the room. To Harry's immense surprise the room was extremely well furnished.

Directly in front of him lay a massive four-poster bed. Velvet curtains draped down the side of it and a the mahogany shone brilliantly by the firelight. To the side of the bed was an enourmous bookshelf, filled with books on the Dark Arts. And on the other side sat a large study-desk. Papers and quills filled it. Around the walls maps with pins and marks on them showed pictures and the location of every Death Eater. Like the Maruaders Map, Harry thought.

Any dream of comfort Harry had was shattered when one of the Death Eaters kicked him in the ribs. Harry heard a crack and was sure that at least on was broken. He was thrown on to the bed and a sharp, burning pain shot up his side.

No sooner had the Death Eaters gone and Harry crawled into bed, had he fallen asleep. He slept very easily that night and when he awoke to the smell of bacon many hours earlier he felt much better. Gingerely rubbing his side, he confirmed to himself that he had two broken ribs and a few badly bruised ones.

Still he could not work out why Voldemort had not killed him and why he was putting him up in great luxury. What did he want? Then is hit him like a ton of bricks. He wanted Harry to join him. Harry shook his head defiantely. No, he would not join Voldemort. Never.

He was so lost in his thoughts he hardly heard the soft knocking on the door. He got up and was tugging on the doorknob, about to shout for a key when he realised it was unlocked. Hermione came in. She took one look at Harry and threw her arms around his neck, sobbing. Harry hugged her and rubbed the back of her head. 'Ooh' he winced, 'watch out, I have some broken ribs. One of the Death Eaters gave me a good night kick'.

'Harry! Does it hurt? Are you all right?' Hermione said desperately. Harry nodded and invited her to lie with him. She followed him to the bed and climbed in next to him. She rested her head on his chest and together they fell asleep again.

A little while later Harry re-awoke to find Hermione shuffling through the papers on the desk. 'Hermione, what are you doing?' He asked. Hermione jumped, surprised. She came over and stroked his forehead. 'I was looking for something. Anything that would tell us what he wants from us. Harry, how did you get here?' She replied.

He retold the entire story of Pettigrew revealing Voldemorts whereabouts, how Snape had been killed -Hermione gasped- and how he had been tricked into coming here. Then he turned to her, 'What are _you _doing here? He asked.

'Well, three days ago, one afternoon after you visited me, I got an owl from Dumbledore, at least I thought it was Dumbledore, saying I was to meet him in a little shopping centre in Scarborough. I thought it must be important if he chose such a random place. But when I got there, no Dumbldore, just a bunch of Death Eaters. I was looking through the papers on the desk in the room I'm in and I found all this correspondence between Voldemort and other Dark Wizards. Apparently this is his Shadow Academy, where he trains people like us in the Dark Arts, wether we want to, or not'.

**Please review people! Sorry about cutting it off so suddenly. Until this instalment this story was going somewhere else entirely, but then I thought, if there are Foreign Wizarding Schools then why not an academy for Dark Wizards? Puh-leeeease dont take this idea! Just review. Go on, you know you want to!**


	3. Default Chapter Title

**THE DARKEST MARK** - Shadow Academy Cont. 

PART 3

A long time after Hermione had left the room Harry was still thinking. Thoughts crambed his head. Harry, with an endless supply of spies and moles, had no idea Voldemort had built a Shadow Academy. That was very important, but the most important thing of all was that he and Hermione escaped.

Harry trusted himself not to be sucked in by Voldemort, but no matter how much confidence he had in Hermione, he knew that Voldemort would no doubt find a way to pressure her into training willingly. As soon as he escaped, Harry promised himself, he would tell Dumbledore and together with a group of Aurors would come and destroy this place.

That, in its self, presented another problem. Harry had no idea where they were. If only he had his wand. He glanced out of his window. It looked warm and the air smelt different. Perhaps it was down south. Cornwall, maybe. Harry shook his head. The weather yesterday, he remembered, was dark and overcast. He remembered thinking that the sun had been scorched. 

Harry also knew that it was now winter, so how could anywhere be warm? He must be in the southern hemisphere. But Hermione had told him that she had been captured and taken here by broom. She also said she had no idea where they were, she'd been blindfolded, but it still only took three hours to get there. If Harry had assumed correctly, they were still in the United Kingdom. They were either in Scotland, far up North, or far down south. 

Harry was on another train of thought when he heard banging on the door. He opened it to find the elder Crabbe there. 'What d'you want?' He asked. Harry knew he was more than capable of beating Vincent Crabbe's father in a duel, but without wands? Not a chance.

Crabbe snorted and tried an icy stare, however, it looked more like a dopey, cross-eyed look. 'Our Master wants you all out in the "yard", get a move on' he said. Before Harry had a chance to reply, the door was banged shut in his face. He wondered what Voldemort wanted with him. Who were the others? He pulled on a cloak and headed out.

As he walked up the twisting stairs he glanced at the walls. They were filled with ancient paintings and decorations. For ages he walked until finally he emerged near the pit. To one side a large door was open and a group of people were stood outside on the grass. Harry supposed this must be the 'yard'.

Voldemort was dressed in a long black cloak that whipped about his body in the sudden wind. In front of him stood a line of people, not much older than himself, with expressionless looks on their facses. Voldemort glanced at Harry and told him to join the line. Of course, Harry refused but had no choice when Voldemort reached for his wand.

Voldemort rubbed his hands and begun to speak, 'Welcome, students, to the Shadow Academy' -Harry spat angrily on the ground - 'for those of you who are new' -he glanced at Harry and Hermione- 'here I teach willing pupils' -an amused look came over his face- 'the beauty and power of the Dark Arts'.

'Potter. Step forward'. Harry looked at Voldemort, who now had his wand drawn, and stepped forward. 'Potter, you have so much power. Why use that power to help Muggles, those were the people who burnt us at stakes, the tormentors that you lived with, you could save a Muggle today and he would not give a word of thanks' -Harry looked suspicously at Voldemort- 'Or you could join me and live a life of luxury. More power and reverance you could ever dream of. What do you say?' Voldemorts red eyes pulsed in anticipation.

Harry felt disgusted. He spat on the ground. 'Never' he said. Voldemorts cheek twitched in suppressed anger. He stroked his fine wand as though it was his child. 'Very well. You will learn to love me Harry Potter. One day you will call me master. Until then, _Crucio_!' Voldemort hissed.

Harrys body flew backwards and landed hard on the ground. Every nerve seemed as though it was on fire. Every joint felt as though it was being ripped apart. He twitched uncontrallably. Harry thought he would surely die. Voldemort held the curse and Harry felt himself slip into unconciousness, his ears ringing with Hermiones piercing screams.

When he awoke he found himself back in his bed. Hermione sat next to him, sobbing gently. Harry turned and looked at her. 'Are you all right? Did he hurt you?' He asked quickly. Hermione shook her head and Harry took her in a deep hug. He wanted to wash away her tears and comfort her. Instead, he found water welling in his own eyes.

'It'll get better, I swear. Someone will rescue us' he said, even though he knew deep down that was impossible. 'You can stay here tonight if you want?'. Hermione nodded and crawled into bed next to him. Harry gently stroked her hair as she fell asleep. It was long after the moon had risen Harry Potter finally closed his eyes.

The next morning he awoke and found Hermione still sleeping gently next to him. Careful not to wake her, he crept quietly to the chair and put his cloak on. It had been washed during the night he realised. Harry had resolved to explore their prison. He stole quietly out of the door and wandered up to the pit.

The pit was gone and in its place a massive table sat. On the table were plates full of rashers of bacon, large fried eggs, long, fat sausages and fried bread. Harry glanced to see no-one was coming and stole a rasher of bacon as he walked to the door he had first come in.

As his hand reached for the doorknob he realised that Voldemort more likely than not had some kind of curse on it. Gently he picked up an ornament from a nearby table and dropped it on the doorknob. It smashed to pieces.  From behind him he heard a high, cold cackling. It resounded around the large chamber.

Harry, span around to look at the table. Around it sat Death Eaters and the other Shadow Academey members. The members loked quiet and regrettul. The Death Eaters shook silently beneath their long cloaks. On a slightly raised chair sat Voldemort, rubbing his chin gently with one hand.

'Harry. Im disappointed in you. Tut, tut, tut'. Harry glared defiantely at him. 'Release me and the others now, or I'll escape and come back with Dumbledore. You know I will' Harry siad, hoping he sounded convincing. Voldemort obviously didn't believe him and laughed mirthlessly.

'Harry Potter, you don't scare me. Get away from that door and join us here at the table' he waved a hand at the empty seat next to him at the head of the table. Harry shook his head. Voldemort look him dead in the eyes and Harry felt himslef being drawn to the chair.

'Our cook worked hard for this food. And I must say, it is good' Voldemort said, a bit of sausage on the end of his fork. 'Sit down' he commanded, and Harry obeyed. At the table Harry gulped his way through the food. Voldemort looked on wirh a creepy look on his face.

Harry faintly wondered what everyone was swimming in the air for before he fell unconcious on the table next to Voldemort. 'Might use Arsenic next time' Voldemort said to the guffawing Death Eaters.

**Oooh! Sorry it took so long! Concluded next time. I am still not sure where Im going with this story but I have a faint idea. :-) Just Kidding. I have it all planned out. I know my writing is too jerky but Im trying to get it all out. I can go for days with out a wiff of an idea then thousands will come pouring out of my head! Next part sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon! PS: Merlyn, if you are reading this, how'd your first day go? LOL :-)**


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